Some generic drugs becomming hard to find Local Content - Editorial Written by production    Wednesday, 24 February 2010 20:29 While provincial governments in Canada seem to have the best of intention in reducing the price citizens pay for generic drugs by cutting the percentage the companies can make you pay, there may be an unwanted side effect because of the legislated changes. First, most locals are aware that the Alberta government has put the cart before the horse, so to speak, by announcing cuts without having a concrete plan in place to reimburse pharmacies for the many other services they provide, thereby ensuring these businesses thrive. The problem, if not solved, will devastate rural pharmacies. However, another problem may be the disappearance of many generic drugs. Already some pharmacists are reporting that some generic drugs are hard, if not impossible, to find. Doctors are being forced to prescribe other drugs in their place. Whether this is because generic companies have been forced to slice their profit margins remains to be seen, however it may be one of the issues they are facing. Another issue is brand name drug companies are forming subsidiary generic companies which take over producing the brand drug once the patent on it expires. This is basically like a top-end car manufacturer also producing a less expensive brand of its own product. The outcome of this is obvious, even to those of us who are not among the Donald Trump’s of this world. If, in time, the only company making these drugs are actually one and the same, then they will have a stranglehold on the product and, eventually, be able to charge whatever they like. This is bound to have a detrimental effect on our health care budgets. Most seniors know they are encouraged by companies like Blue Cross to purchase generic drugs whenever they can. This saves governments hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. If one or two companies wind up with a stranglehold on all drugs and can, therefor, set whatever price they like, those savings will be gone quicker than ice cream cake at a five-year old’s birthday party. Our government needs to be in close communication with representatives from both rural and urban pharmacies so it can foresee and, hopefully, avoid some of these future pratfalls. All of us want to pay less for generic drugs, but first not at the expense of rural pharmacies, and second not if the eventual outcome means there is no more fair competition in the marketplace because, should that happen, we will all lose in the end and the skyrocketing health budget will continue it’s upward spiral.

The downside to the Olympics Local Content - Editorial Written by production    Wednesday, 17 February 2010 18:43 With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games well under way, questions have arisen about whether the benefits of hosting the global sporting event will out-weigh the costs of constructing the infrastructure to actually have the capacity to have them in our backyard. Last Sunday, the Poverty Olympics were held in Vancouver, which was actually a protest decrying the six-billion dollar, three week long competition that will have the eyes of the world on Vancouver. Twelve anti-Olympic groups converged on the city's infamous Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's most deprived neighborhoods that is noted for drug use and high crime rates. The group staged a mock Olympic Games, complete with a mock opening ceremony, mascots, and distributed fake tickets. The group said high rents have led to the eviction of residents from their meager living facilities. They said the $6-billion could have paid for 12,720 social housing units. A cost-benefit analysis, completed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, suggested the Olympic Games in Vancouver would be a financial nightmare for the city. The evaluation looked at how society would gain and lose from Vancouver hosting the event. The study, completed in 2003 and long before the economic meltdown, concluded that the Games would not be attractive from a financial point of view and could not be justified based on the estimated economic impacts that would ensue. Even though there was plenty of outcry even back in 2003, the Vancouver, British Columbia, and federal governments forged ahead with their bid. The costs have skyrocketed since 2003. The cost for security, for example, was budgeted at $175 million. That pricetag is now estimated to be about $1-billion. Despite the economic crisis hitting the pocketbooks hard everywhere else, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson continues to insist they are right on track with the Olympic budget. Right. How can it be given the economic turmoil of the times and ongoing rising costs? Paint the Games rosy, but most people are well aware that the costs have well exceeded the revenues and once the event is over and done and the income tallied, the proof will be on the books. A recent poll of residents in metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky corridor suggest that many are ambivalent about the Winter Olympics. About 63 percent of those polled, expect the Games to run a deficit. Has there been an Olympic Games venue in recent history that has not? As well, 83 percent believe the Games are planned to benefit the elite members of society. That  is not  bad assumption considering the price of tickets to watch a game, never mind the number of local low-income residents who lost their housing to make way for the event. As the Games get underway and the world watches as elite athletes compete for the gold, many in Vancouver are wondering how it will be paid for. Montreal just finished paying for their 1976 Olympic Games. As much of the world is getting a peek at the brand-new infrastructure to accommodate these athletes and the thousands of spectators from around the world, those in the Downtown Eastside will be too busy to watch. They are looking for a new place to live.   Volunteers appreciated Local Content - Editorial Written by production    Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:28 The annual volunteer appreciation dinners will be taking place this upcoming weekend, in Foremost Friday night and Bow Island Saturday where local volunteers will be honoured with an evening set aside to recognize their contributions to the communities they serve. The truth is many programs would not exist at all if it were not for volunteers. They fill many positions that would remain empty if not for them, from coaching youth sports teams to driving senior citizens to appointments and from setting up a room for a function to handing out hampers at the food bank, they are everywhere, keeping busy by acting on their ideals, helping the community be a better place. According to a recent study, the average wage to pay someone to do the jobs volunteers do is about $20 per hour. You can just imagine how many programs would not exist if they had to have that kind of money available to them in order to get someone to do the work necessary to make them run. There are economic development groups, people who visit the sick at the hospital and those who help out at various health centres doing jobs that would tie up the professionals for hours otherwise. They lead 4-H clubs. They run not for profit organizations. They sit on committees to beautify their towns or to welcome new neighbours or to organization festivals. These people care, and it is a good thing to recognize them and their continued support of the communities they are a part of and make better through their hard work. It is hard to imagine what these communities would look like without volunteers. Certainly many many programs would go by the wayside and rural Alberta would lose much of the characteristics that make it a special and wonderful place to live and raise children. If you are a volunteer, remember to get your ticket for one of these dinners. They are free, but you must reserve your space prior to the event.   A hard lesson learned Local Content - Editorial Written by production    Wednesday, 03 February 2010 19:29 On Jan. 19, Republican Scott Brown beat out  democrat Martha Coakley in a Massachusetts special election to fill the seat left vacant following last year's death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. Coakley ran a lackluster campaign, did very little to reach out to the people, canceled a meet-and-greet at Fenway Park to greet supporters because it was too cold; even though it was not too cold for her supporters to turn out to meet her. Kennedy held seat for 47 years and the last time the people of Massachusetts elected a Republican to the United States senate was in 1972. Sound familiar? It should. The Conservative Party of Alberta has continuously led the province since 1971 under the leadership of Peter Lougheed (1971-85), Don Getty (1985-92), Ralph Klein (1992-06), and Ed Stelmach (2006-present). For Coakley, assuming the senate seat would be an easy win proved to be more costly than one might think. She did not merely lose the seat for the democratic party, but a Republican win gave her opponent's party the 41st vote in the 100-member Senate and thus, the power to filibuster Democratic initiatives. Coakley's out-of-touch campaign was magnified with the public when she stated that she preferred to campaign among elected officials behind closed doors rather and get out and meet people. When Kennedy's widow called Coakley to offer to volunteer during the campaign, Coakley snubbed Kennedy...twice. One of her campaign ads actually misspelled "Massachusetts". Coakley did not stop there in offending the people of Massachusetts. During a radio interview, she was asked who Curt Schilling was. Now, it is forgivable for people in Alberta to not know, but anybody in Massachusetts better know who the pitcher who helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007 is. Coakley's response to the question: Another Yankee fan. It is unclear whether she truly did not know or if she was making a joke about Schilling, who is a staunch Republican and considered running for the Senate seat himself. Regardless, Coakley clearly was not in touch with the people who she was banking on to win her the Senate seat and the people of Massachusetts responded and voted in favour of Republican Brown, who for the most part, campaigned as an Independent. So, what does a special election in New England have to do with politics in Alberta? Perhaps nothing directly; but the parallels are certainly there. As Coakley felt the election would be an easy one to win for the Democratic party and ran a lackluster campaign, Alberta's Conservative party too, have been getting awfully comfortable in their seats. If Coakley preferred to run her campaign behind closed doors, amongst elected officials, then how does one think she would conduct herself once elected? Look no further than the Stelmach government which holds continuous focus groups, committee meetings, and closed-door sessions without reaching out to the general populace. Issuing gag orders and conducting business from a central office in Edmonton does nothing to ensure the trust, respect and ultimately, the vote of the people of Alberta. Like Coakley, Stelmach too avoids interaction with the "little people", has a habit of not attending public engagements, and seems to be quite comfortable behind a closed door. Still, he has managed in his short time in office, to alienate the petroleum industry, dismantle the province's health system, and also like Coakley, remains out of touch with the needs of the people of Alberta. Currently, the Conservatives hold onto 68 seats in legislature, the Liberals hold nine, Wildrose have three, the NDP have two and one seat is held by an Independent. Stelmach has two short years to get out of the meeting rooms and find out what it is Albertans really want. Time will tell if he will actually be able to reverse some of the damage he has created in this province. The people of Massachusetts bucked the trend and voted against what was expected. Albertans can and will do the same.   What can we do as a global community? Local Content - Editorial Written by production    Thursday, 28 January 2010 17:25 American president, John F. Kennedy once said “ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. The underlying ideal of throwing yourself into a greater work, of giving service to your fellow man instead of looking first for your own benefits, has made this an oft quoted phrase. In the modern world this question can even be re-phrased to include our neighbours everywhere, not just in our own backyards, our own countries, but those far overseas. Between media coverage and the phenomenal growth of technology, a tragedy or a triumph thousands of miles away seems close. And though there are many things about this modern world that make its citizens often concerned and sometimes, rightfully, cautious, this ability to see beyond ourselves is surely a blessing. From 9-11 to the tsunami a few years ago and now to the terrible earthquake that has devastated one of the globe’s poorer nations, many of us are able to experience a commonality never before felt for our brothers and sister who are suffering. The ability to move pictures and information in an instant means we are getting this news almost as soon as it happens. Our transportation abilities have moved forward in leaps and bounds as well. When at one time it took several months to cross the ocean, now we can traverse the world in hours. In combination, this technology allows us, as global citizens, to see a need and to respond to it nearly immediately. Certainly, as with all things, there are snags. The destruction in Haiti has made distributing the necessities of life a nightmare - but not one that will continue forever. Even now reports are coming back that aid is reaching those who need it. For some, of course, it is too late but for many others, it is only a matter of determination and a continued willingness to help. From famous people uniting in Canada and globally to earn money for Haiti through the telethons first broadcast Friday night to local students like those at Senator Gershaw School and I.F. Cox, people are reacting to the need, to the televised faces of children, some injured, some hungry, some thirsty. Doctors and nurses are looking for and finding ways to go and help in person. Experts are already considering better ways to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure. Aid is coming in from all corners of the globe, from Iceland to Venezuela and from Britain to Australia - and of course from Canada and the US. Differences are being set aside. They are being seen as petty and inconsequential in comparison to the real and immediate requirements of men, women and children just to live to see another dawn. When people unite in this way, they show their true potential, their amazing spirit and strength. Who knows how far we could reach if only we could unite in love like this everyday for every person in need.

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